By JULIAN A. SELBT.
KING JOHN OF ETHIOPIA.
(Sketch or an Aft-lean Kins'* Splendor that
OatahlneH the- Arablnn NlHht?--A Bur
baric Banquet*
[From the London Spectator].
King John of Etliiopia is a striking
nnd picturesque personage. Ab Kassa,
Prince of Tigre, claiming equal descent
with Theodoras from King Solomon, he j
figured largely in the Bine books which
formed an exceedingly interesting but
little read history of the events which
preceded the Abyssinian expedition; and
that impression is deepened by the ac?
count gi /en by Mr. de C?sson?who, in
company with the late Gen. Kirkham,
visited King John at his camp, near Gon
dar, the ancient capital of Abyssinia, in
1873?of the king and his surroundings.
The country, its people, their wives, and
their faith, are not like any of the Afri?
can types in other portions of the con?
tinent. They remind us of the
Scriptures; tho whole picture is
like that of the tribes and the fends
whicb we find in the book of Genesis
and the books of the Kings. Long be?
fore the king is reached, the traveler
hears tales of him?his strength, his
wisdom, and his prowess in war. At
Axum, the former capital of Tigre, he
is shown the great monolith, seventy
feet high, and told how Kassa used to
cast his heavy spear over it?a great feat
to do with an ordinary lance?and still
practises this exercise when he comes to
Axum. There is little disposition to
"forward" a traveler, the disposition to
keep their country free from the stronger
being as strong as ever in ihe Abyssians,
but tho king promises his help and pro?
tection to all who shall be properly
recommended to him by the French con?
sul at Mussowoh, and the reluctance of
intervening personages has to give way.
When Hr. de Gosson had taken pos?
session oi his tent, near the monarch's
enclosure, the king sent him two jars
full of a dreadful drinkable called tedge,
fifty " breads," an antelope's horn full
of salt and pepper, and a live cow,which
was killed and out up before his eyes, and
the meat piled up inside the tent. He
subsequently vialted'tbe house of Mar?
cher, one of the king's interpreters,
which was, like all the Abyssian nouses,
constructed of wood and branches, and
there he saw a pretty sight', that of Mar?
cher's horse formirfg one of the family
circle. The beautiful, intelligent animal
was lodged in a little thatched stall open?
ing into the house, his neck adorned
with a handsome chain, bis food and
drink given him at regular intervals in a
clean earthen dish, the corn being the
same as that of which the household
bread was made; he was regarded as a
cherished friend and comrade. After the
civilities of the king's interpreters, came
the good offices of the king s cook, who
sent the honored guest four tushes of
curry. The.king's cook, who also acts
as taster, is a great personage; he must
be n priest, must have always led an irre?
proachable life, and is never permitted
to marry.
Next day at dawn came one of the
officers " liikanianguas," splendidly
dressed in a robe of flowered silk, with
an India muslin kuarie, and silver
mounted pistols in his sash, to inquire
after the traveler's health in his majesty's
name. He was oue of those who have
the privilege of wearing the same dress
as his sovereign, and the dangerous dis?
tinction of going into battle similarly
armed, so that the royal person may not
be distinguished. Early in the after?
noon came Maderakal, another interpre?
ter, attended by an esquire, bearing the
royal sword and shield, to conduct the
stranger to the king's banqueting hall.
Drums and trumpets sounded; a salute
was fired from a battery of brass howit?
zers as the guest entered the wooden,
rush-roofed building, of oblong form and
vast .extent, with a double colonnade of
tree trunks leading to the center, where,
on a divan, raised high and draped with
purple velvet, sat King John of Ethiopia,
cross-legged, a pair of English rifles,
cocked and loaded, resting on the cush?
ions to left and right of him, and his
slippers of soli*1, silver filagree on the
carpet before him. By his side was a
beautiful sword, with a sheath of velvet
and enamel; on his head the great triple
crown of Etliiopia flashed with gold and
jewels; his robe was a cloth of silver,
and over his brows hung a long veil of
crimson silk, worn under the crown and
falling in heavy folds round the face.
The barbaric splendor of that scene was
perfect in every respect. Here are Mr.
de Oosson's' words, which fall, be soys,
far short of his impressions: " Oneitheo
side of the throne stood two gigantir
eunuchs, clnd in shirts of purple and
green silk, and holding drawn sabres.
A swarthy guard of honor, dressed with
equal magnificence, stood also with
drawn sabres, behind; while all around
crowded the great officers of state and
notetL warriors, in long robes of silk and
velvet of every color, the scarlet scab?
bards of their swords gleaming with gold
and silver filagree, and their necks
adorned with the skins of the lion and
black panther. The air shook with the
wild notes of the trumpets and the roll
of the drums."
When, Mr. de Gosson reached the
"LET OUB JUST CENSl
COLUMBIA,
throne ami bowed, King John shook
hands with him, and bnde him welcome.
Then the whole compauj seated them?
selves on the carpets (Home which our
queen had sent to Kassa,Prince of Tigr-?),
and the next amval was of special in?
terest. It was that of Ras Wareuia.who
had ruled over all Amhara as on abso?
lute prince until subdued by King John.
He presented a most striking figure us
he walked up the center of the hall, a
riflle in one hand and a richly ornament?
ed shield in the other. The conquered
Has, tall, stout, very handsome, wore a
splendid tippet of black panther skin,
enriched with clnaps and bosses of gold
filigree, which the king had just given
him; a robe of the riebest silk; on his
right wrist a silver-gilt gauntlet, studded
with gems?un especial mark of the
king's favor; a splendid sword, and his
carefully plaited hair wus covered with
a thin piece of white muslin, attached
by a golden pin. His feet, like those of
all present, were bare. Among the wild
and splendid crowd was a veteran war?
rior, the oldest of the king's persouul
attendants, whose ninety years hud not
dimmed the fire in his dark eyes nor
bowed the gannt, tall figure, almost ns
straight as the silver matchlock iu his
hand, whose gray beard mingled with the
tawny mano of the lion's skin thrown
over his shoulder, aud?who3c locks were
bound with a silver crown. It is diffi?
cult to imagine this splendid assemblage
sitting about the thvono of the king, who
is a great soldier, a just judge, and a
powerful ruler; of distinguished and re?
fined appearance, a fine horseman, a
mastor of all athletic oxerciees; alike
leurned and practical in his religion, in?
terested in other countries, and unques?
tionably the ablest prince who bos been
allotted to his own; and after an Arabian
Night-like incident?*'. e., the passing of
a long line of slaves bearing on their
heads baskets covered with red cloth,
containing flat cakes called "tef," of
of which they deposit one before each
of the principal guests?all the effect of
the beautiful and poetical scene being
dispersed by the following proceedings.
Meonwui e ,several qpws ha^l been,
slaughtered on the threshold of the hall,
and large hunks of the raw and smoking
meat were placed on the boskets, the
stranger guest being first served. Two j
attendants then went round, one dis?
tributing knives from a case he curried
at his side, and the other offering an
antelope's horn full of mixed salt and
red pepper, for us to season the meat
with. All the company then set to, and
began to devour the raw cow's flesh with
the greatest avidity." This barbaric
banquet, with all its accessories of silken
robes, beautiful weapons, delicate
fabrics, rich gems, dark, handsome faces
with gleaming eyes oud teeth, and braid- i
ed hau-, the scene a camp, and the guests j
fierce warriors, a conquered chieftoiu, ]
and an English officer, is a combination I
whereon to exerciee the liveliest fancy.
The Latest Things in Fans.
There is very little difference in funs;'
the latest are straight sticks, instead
of curved. In lace funs, the new?
est combines lace exquisitely fine paint?
ings on silk gauze; the pattern of the
luce made with a view to answer oil a
framework for the pictures. There are
generally one large one in the center,
and a smaller in the left-hand corner.
One in rocco style was seen with wrought
Eearl sticks. The fun itself was kid,
eautifully painted. Tins came as high
as $200. Sticks of opal pearl are con?
sidered quite conimc il faut for lace fans
this year. For ladies in lighter mourn
ing, smoked pearl sticks, covered with
black lace, except hi the center and left
side, which contain exquisite paintings
on black gauze, are all Ihe rage. Albert,
the celebrated French fan pointer, now
fmts his name in the lower right or left
land corner of the painting, iu imitation
of his biother artists on a large scale;
of course the penchant for everything
a la Japanese finds a ready outlet in funs;
the expensive ones in ivory with raised
gold or silver lacquer work, are more at?
tractive as an object of beauty, though
for their usefulness being rather heavy.
The tortoise shells in the same styles are
very handsome, but expensive?none less
than $100.?London Truth.
A Successful Farmer's Opinion.
Mr. Harris Lewis, a well known dairy?
man of Herkimer county, N. Y., at a
dairymen's meeting at Ingersoll, Cana?
da, remarked us follows: "I hold that
every man, woman and child is fitted by
nature to perform some act or discharge
some one duty in life better than any
other. But man in his ignorance often
thwart's nature's operations and designs,
and turns them to worse than useless
purposes. Many parents seem to look
upon labor as degrading, and try to find
some higher place for their children,
rather than encourage engaging in use?
ful labor. It is a sod picture, I know,
it is the cose with many in the United
States. I hope it is not so on this side
of the line. Now, to succeed in any
business, calling or profession, there
must be m >re or less adaptation for that
particular business or calling and a love
for it."
S. C TUESDAY, OC
Lost Tor Twenly-oight Years.
j It iIocm n?>t often occur that brothers
> live twenty-eight yours in ignorance of
each other's whereabouts und then are
brought together by chance. Dr. Stark,
who lives iu Cincinnati, was horn in the
city of Turnowitz, Prussia, where his
mother and relatives are still residing.
Twenty-eight years ago his younger
brother, Henry Hermann Stark, for
some misdemeanor, was chastised by his
father. Henry was eight yenrs of age at
that time, aifd boy-like took the imuish
mcnt so much to heart that bo run away
from home. No one could obtain u~
tracor
ixi growing titty harren rom-stalks tmt
of every hundred we grow, seems, un?
questionably, to he a very poor busi?
ness. We hope our readers will give
this matter the thought and attention it
deserves. There is nothing to lone by
adopting tho means of improving pro?
posed, and there is a vast gain possible
from it.?Ncko York Times.
To Clean Paint.?Take one ounce of
pulverized borax, one pound of small
pieces of best brown soap, and three
quarts of water. Let it simmer till the
I soap is dissolved, stirring frequently.
Do not let it boil. Use a pieco of old
flannel, and rinse off as soon as the paint
is clean. This mixture is also good for
washing clothes.
Waterproofing Cloth.?Imbue the
cl?)th on tho wrong side with a solution
of isinglass, alum and Boap, by means of
a brush. When dry, brush on tho
wrong sido against the grain, and theu
go over with a brush dipped in water.
This makes the cloth impervious (for a
long time) to water, not asr.
Waterproof Boots and Snotcs.?
Linseed oil, onepint; suet, eight ounces;
beeswax, six ounces; resin, one ounce.
Mix together.
Calico Made Transparent and Wa?
terproof.?Take six pints of pale linseed
oil, two ounces of sugar of lead and
eight ounces of white resia ; the sugar
of lead must be ground with a small
quantity of it, and added t< the remain?
der ; tho resin should bo iuoorporated
with the oil by means of a gentle heat.
The composition may then be laid on
calico, or auy other Buch material, by
means of a brush.
A flagrant breach of politeness, nud
one which is most annoying to refined
and sensitive people, is the very general
practice of one's conversation. The im?
punity with which this is done has de?
graded rational conversation, which ought
to be the greatest charm of social inter
woman who has' anything to say that is
worth saying, desires to say it in his or
her own way ; and those who have brains
to appreciate it, will be equally desirous
of hearing it without interruption.* Yet
it is a common thing for u parlor conver?
sation to partake more of the babble of
Habel, than a conversation among rational
beings, who are supposed to know and
appreciate what each othes says. One
begins to relate an incident, and before
he has finished two sentences, some parrot
in line clothes chimes in with her sense?
less gabble, breaking the thread of die -
course, and compelling the narrator to
begin again, or abandon the attempt to
instruct or entertain.
Thin Ik the grossest impoliteness ; it is
lut'eommon on occurrence as conversation
itself. It is not much to say, that nine
out of every ten people who indulge in
this habit ore incapable of carrying on a
rational conversation on any useful topic,
and indulge in these breaches of etiquette
by way of covering their retreat and
hiding their ignorance.
We suggest to young people?and old
ones, too, for that matter?that here is a
promising field for social reform. Never
interrupt a conversation by interjecting
remarks, however appropriate and witty
they may seem. All sensible people
will respecs you, and conclude that you
have good sense, and know how to use it
to the best advantage.
Indian Princes and Rubies.
The Indian princes and nobles are
greedy of diamonds beyond all people,
and there is but one country in tho
world in which any product of nature is
held more precious than this wonderful
combustible gem, whose nature indeed
wo know, but whose genesis is still a
moot question for science. That country
is Burmab, the land of the white'ele?
phant, where the finest rabies sheltered
in earth's breast ore found, and arc rated
far above diamonds. As the King of
Sinm prizes his cats, so the King of Bur?
undi prizes the rubies of his country,
jealously prohibiting the export of them,
so that the beautiful aluminous stones?
which do but glow with a clearer and
richer color when they are exposed to
fire in which the diamond would be con?
sumed and disappear?can only be pro?
cured by stealth or favor by private indi?
viduals. No European baa ever been
permitted to see the king's wonderful
ruby, " the size of a pigeon's egg and of
extraordinary quality "; and the aale of
the two magnificent rubies which were
brought to England iu 1875?the finest
ever kuewn iu Europe?caused such ex?
citement, that a military guard had to
escort the persons conveying the package
to the ship. Five days' journey south?
east of Ava lies the home of the blood
red gems, the jealous earth in which the
people believe that they ripen, becoming
from their original colorlessness, yellow,
green, blue, and, last of all, the match?
less ruby red. Next to these rank the
rubies which are found in the Tartar
wilds of Badakshan, and which the
people there believe ore always found in
pairs. When one of the seekers has dis?
covered one he will frequently l?de ti
until its mate is found
Household Notar.
One Form of ltudeness.
course, into a proving faren.